Revenge
by afitwilight
Summary: Set after The Date. Someone is out to get revenge on Warrick and Sara. N/S romance


Many people don't get to see the true life of prison. Movies make it seem so nice and easy. Eckley looked around his cell. Fortunately, he didn't have to share with anyone. The cell smelled like old moss. The tiles were so old they were turning green. The urinal was so disgusting. He didn't think it had been cleaned in years. Hopefully, he thought, I won't have to be here much longer. He had a hearing later that morning. He was sitting on the sorriest excuse for a bed he's ever seen. If it wasn't for Warrick and Sara, I wouldn't be here, he thought. Revenge had a nice ring to it. He would pay them back. They are going to wish they had never crossed paths with him.  
  
A security guard came up to his cell thirty minutes later. He took out an array of keys and searched for the correct one. The guard was typical. He was about six feet and weighed over two hundred pounds. Eckley couldn't stand him. The guard's name tag labeled him as Williams. Williams looked at Eckley with about as much disgust as he could. "Let's go Eckley. You've got to be in court in thirty." Eckley stood up and waited for Williams to unlock his cell. "Don't worry Williams, after this court hearing I'll be out of here." Williams said nothing. He opened the cell door and waited for the prisoner to come out. Once he walked out, Williams then closed the door back. Then the two of them headed for the washroom. While he was cleaning up, he looked into the mirror. Revenge, revenge, revenge was the mantra going through his head. One hour from now he knew he would be a free man. The judge would only slap him on the back of his hand and give him community service and send him on his way. Just one hour, be ready Brown and Sidle, I've got your number. An evil smile appeared on his face as he walked out and began his way toward the court.  
  
The sun was very bright for nine in the morning. Warrick had just got home and hour ago from work. The case hadn't been bad, but he was tired. He walked over to his fridge and grabbed a coke out of it. He glanced at the court paper attached to his fridge door. Eckley had his court date today. Warrick had already had his appearance in court. He had given his testimony and was released. "I'm so glad I don't have to go today." He thought as he took a drink. He yawned and decided to see if there was anything decent on television. As soon as he sat down and turned on the tube, his phone rang. He didn't feel like talking to anyone so he left the machine get it. The answering machine kicked. "You've reached Warrick Brown. I'm not in right now so leave a message." BEEP. The voice on the other sounded just as tired. "Hey, it's Grissom. I just wanted to see if you were going to the hearing today. I'm going just to see what sentence he gets. If you're there I'll see you see. If not then I'll talk to you tonight. Bye." The machine turned off leaving a red blinking light. Warrick leaned over and erased the message. He then focused his attention back on the tv. Not ten minutes later, he fell asleep.  
  
The courtroom was slowly filling in with people. They were all there for different reasons. Grissom found a seat in the back and waited for Eckley's trial. Ten minutes later, a guard brought Eckley in and they sat on one side of the room. Then the judge came in. After all the introductions, the case got underway. Eckley wanted to turn around and see if anyone from the crime lab showed up but he couldn't. He kept his attention on the judge. The judge was a big black man. He reminded Eckley of the black guy in the Green Mile. The atmosphere surrounding him was eerie. Eckley felt like if he made the wrong move, the judge would sentence him for life. The judge then called his name. Eckley stood up awaiting his sentence. "You are aware of the crimes charged against you correct." The judge asked glancing down at him. Eckley swallowed hard. "Yes sir." The judge continued. "I'm sentencing you to one year community service. You will not be allowed to carry any kind of government job. You will stay clear from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Do you understand the sentence?"   
"Yes sir."  
The judge then released him. Eckley stood up and a big grin appeared on his face. I knew it, he thought, the judgment system has gotten really slack. He turned around to look into the audience. The only person he recognized was Gil Grissom. He gave Grissom a faint smile and mouthed to him. "I'm free."  
  
Grissom arrived early to work that night. Of course being early wasn't new for him. He just wanted to see if he could talk to Warrick before the shift started. The hallways at the lab were busy. It was a whole different world inside these doors. People of all ages and races all working together for one goal. The goal for all of them was to protect the innocent. Grissom stopped off in the break room. He needed coffee. Hopefully Greg had his Hawaiian Blue coffee hidden where Grissom can easily find it. Grissom looked behind all the other coffee bags and found a regular brown bag. Grissom took it out and sniffed it. Bingo. He poured the coffee in the pot and let it begin brewing. The coffee's smell soon began to fill the entire room. When it was done, he grabbed a cup and poured some in it. A voice got his attention. "You can pour me a cup while you're at it."  
Grissom turned around and saw Warrick standing there. "I'm glad you're here. I wanted to tell you about Eckley."  
The mention of Eckley's name caused a frown to appear on Warrick's face. "He got off didn't he?"  
"Yeah, he only has to serve a year in community service."  
Warrick walked over and grabbed a cup from the shelf and let Grissom pour some coffee in it. "That really sucks. At least he won't be here though."  
"Yeah, that's the only good thing to come out of this."  
Both men then sat down. The rest of team should arrive within the next ten minutes or so. The next one to arrive was Catherine. She looked like she had about an hours sleep. She didn't say anything to the two men sitting on the chairs in front of her. She headed straight for the coffee pot. After pouring herself a cup and getting settled in, she then focused her attention on the gentlemen in front of her. "Hi."  
Grissom gave her a concerned look. "How was your day?"  
Catherine looked him straight in the eyes. Her eyes looked like they were about to close any second. "Lindsey's sick. I had to go get her from school. Then we went to the doctor's office and had to stay 2 hours. Then she was up sick all afternoon. I finally was able to get a little bit of sleep when the babysitter came."  
"I'm sorry to hear that. If you need to go home you can."   
"Nah, I'll be okay. That is if Lindsey doesn't call wanting me to come home."  
Warrick gave her a sad smile. "I hope she feels better."  
"Me too. I can't handle another day like today."  
Before anyone could say anything else, Nick and Sara walked in. Nick took in the whole scene. He noticed that Catherine looked exhausted and that Warrick and Grissom looked like they had seen better days as well. The smell of coffee got his attention also. He went over to the coffee maker and poured himself and Sara a cup. "Evening guys. I would ask how everyone is but I can tell by your faces."  
Nick handed a cup to Sara. Warrick looked over at her. "Eckley got off easy. He's only having to do commune service for a year."  
Sara frowned. "That sucks."  
Catherine explained about Lindsey. Nick and Sara both said their apologies. Then Greg came in. The first thing he noticed was the smell of coffee. He walked right over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. He immediately recognized the flavor. He turned around and looked at them. "Okay, who found my stash?"  
Grissom grinned at him. "It wasn't that hard."  
Greg decided to drop it. He knew he couldn't win against Grissom.  
  
Jim Brass walked through the halls of the crime lab searching for the night shift. He found them all in the break room. He walked in and noticed none of them looked like they wanted to leave. Too bad he thought. "Are you all on break already?"  
"Yeah, didn't you know that break now starts from the beginning of the shift until the end." Warrick responded.   
"Funny. Has Grissom not given you your assignments yet?"  
Grissom looked at him. "Hey, I'm standing right here. To answer your question, no they haven't got their assignments yet. We were having our ritualistic coffee before I officially put them to work."  
The others gave give Grissom a strange look. "Ritualistic coffee?" Catherine asked. Her face carried a puzzled look.   
Grissom didn't answer. He got up and threw his coffee cup in the trash. "Okay let's go and see what we have in store for us tonight."  
The others got up and following him out. They each threw away their cups as they went out.   
  
After some effort, Grissom couldn't find anything for them to do. It was as if all the evil in Vegas decided to take a night off. He realized there was no use in keeping the entire team there. He decided to go see if any of them wanted to go home. Once again they were all sitting in the break room. This time they were all fully awake. Warrick, Nick, and Sara were watching something on the television. Catherine had her head down on the table. "Okay guys, it isn't everyday I get to do this. I need some of you to go home." He glanced over at Catherine. "Catherine you get first choice. You wanna go?"  
Catherine managed to gather enough strength to lift her head up. "Yeah, if you don't mind."  
"Not at all. Okay I need one more person." He looked over at the three on the couch. All three of them were looking at him as if they wanted him to make the decision. He really didn't want Sara and Nick here together considering their newly developed relationship. Of course neither one had told him about it yet. He got all his information from Catherine. "Okay, Nick go home."  
Nick looked over at Sara and Warrick. "Is that okay with you guys or do one of you want to go."  
Warrick smiled at him. "Nah, I would rather stay. I promise I'll look after Sara for you."  
Sara smiled at both men. "Go home Nick. Have a good night."  
Grissom looked at Warrick and Sara. "Maybe I'll have something for the two of you to do soon. I'm going to my office. Nick, Catherine, have a good night okay. I'll see you two tomorrow."  
Nick and Catherine both said bye. Nick, Sara, and Warrick all told Catherine goodbye and told her to tell Lindsey to get better.  
"I will bye you guys. See you tomorrow." With that she left the room.   
Nick took Sara's hand but glanced over at Warrick. "Have a good night man."  
"You too Nick. I promise I'll take care of her."  
Nick smiled at him. "I know." He turned his attention to Sara. "Wanna walk me out my car?"  
"Sure. I'll be back Warrick." She walked out with Nick barely hearing Warrick tell her she better be.   
As soon as they reached Nick's car, Nick pulled Sara into his arms. He held her closely. Sara took in everything she could. She could smell his aftershave. The cold Vegas air blew right through her skin causing her to shiver. Nick noticed this. He slowly pulled away. "I guess I better go so you can go back in and get warm." Sara smiled at him. "Don't miss me too much." Nick leaned in and kissed her goodbye. "I love you Sara." He said as he pulled away. She could feel his warmth leave her immediately.  
She wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm. "Love you too." She watched Nick get into his car and drive off. She then walked back inside looking for her friend.  
  
The moon cast eerie shadows along a gravel road. The air outside was chilly. It was enough to make Eckley wish he had worn a thicker coat. He had received a phone call earlier that evening asking if he would like some help getting revenge on the night shift. Of course he wasn't sure if he could trust the man on the other line. The man didn't give out his name. The only information he did give was a time and a meeting place. Eckley got out of the car and stood around looking for someone to show up. A few minutes later headlights came into view. The car stopped in front of him. As soon as he saw him, Eckley recognized the man from the car. Agent Culpepper. Suddenly things were beginning to look up for Eckley.  
  
Warrick and Sara were bored. In fact they were so bored they went down to the lab to see if Greg needed help with anything. Before they could even reach the door, they heard music blaring. Looking inside, they saw the young tech dancing around the lab. He looked like he was performing in front of an audience. Warrick just shook his head. "Grissom would have a fit, if he saw this." Sara laughed. "Well, I guess this means Greg doesn't need help."  
Warrick laughed with her. "Oh he needs help, just not the kind we can give him."  
They opened the door and Quarashi's Stick 'EM Up began blaring into their ears. Greg was singing his heart out. "Stick 'EM up girl stick 'em up." Warrick walked over to the stereo and turned it off. Greg's trance was over. He slowly turned around knowing it would be Grissom staring him in the face. Relief washed all over him as soon as he noticed it was only Warrick and Sara. "Oh, it's just you two. For a minute there I thought I was going to have to listen to another lecture from Grissom."  
Warrick laughed him. "And we all know how well you pay attention to those."  
Greg sat down and took a drink from his cola. "I pay attention just fine thanks, the key is what I do with the information after I hear it."  
Sara laughed. "Which is nothing obviously."  
"Exactly. So what brings the two of you by?"  
Warrick sat down on the edge of the table behind him. "We were hoping you were overwhelmed with work and needed some help. But that's not the case here is it."  
Greg leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up. "Nope, not much to do here either. I finished the stuff for first shift. I got bored and turned on the music."  
"Well, I guess that means we're back to doing nothing." Warrick said.  
Grissom walked in and heard this. "Actually, I have something for you two to do. I got a phone call about the two of you. Seems like the two of you have a reputation."  
This got all their attentions. "You got a case for us?" Sara asked.  
"I'm not sure if it's a case or not. I wasn't the one that took the phone message. Brass did. He said the caller wanted the two of you to investigate."  
"Investigate what exactly?" Warrick replied.  
"I don't really know. Which is why I'm not sure if I want you two to go."  
"We can't ignore a call Grissom."  
"I know. Look I'm sending the two of you since it just so happens that you are the only ones here. I want you to call me as soon as you find out what's going on. Understood?"  
"Yes." Both of them responded. Grissom nodded and watched as they headed out. Greg had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach but decided to not share this information with Grissom. He didn't want him to feel worse than he already did.  
  
Warrick and Sara got all the information they needed from Brass. The address was unknown to both of them. Even Brass didn't know where it was. Warrick and Sara hopped in the Tahoe and began their journey. Warrick was driving. The air outside seemed to get colder. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was winter time." He said.  
Sara sat shivering in the passenger side. "I know. The weatherman failed to mention the sudden drop of temperature. I wish I would have brought a heavier jacket."   
"I know what you mean." Warrick turned the heat on in attempt to keep them warm. He glanced over at Sara and then turned his eyes back on the road. He could begin to feel the car warm up. "So how are you and Nick doing?"  
She turned to look at him. "We're doing good thanks." She pressed her hands up against the vents letting the warm air hit them.   
"That's good. I'm glad the two of you are happy."  
"You and Greg both need to find that special someone. I can't believe you haven't already."  
He looked over at her. "I think all the good ones are taken."  
Sara was trying to figure out if he had a hidden meaning in there when his voice cut through her thoughts. "This is the road, but I don't see a house. Do you?"  
She looked outside. What she saw didn't make her feel welcome. They were on a dirt road with trees surrounding both sides. She couldn't tell where one tree began and the other ended. "No, I don't see anything but trees."  
Warrick slowed the car down to about 10 mph. He tried to see if he could see past the trees. No luck though, until he saw a tiny road off the right side. "Hey, the house might be down that road."  
She couldn't see what he was talking about. "Where?"  
He pointed toward the road. "There."  
"Oh, now I see it. Good eyes Warrick."  
He turned down the road only to reach a dead end. He couldn't believe it. "Man, this sucks. I'm beginning to think this whole thing is bogus."   
Sara watched as he turned the car off and sat there. She didn't know what to do. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. If this was just a prank, at least it got us out of the lab for awhile." She removed her hand as soon as he turned to her.  
Warrick didn't know what to do next. He was absolutely sure the call was a hoax. He was about to tell her that they should head back when something slammed into the driver's side window. Glass shards scattered everywhere, hitting both Warrick and Sara. Not two seconds later, the passenger's window was also shattered. They both knew they needed to get out of the car, but they had no idea who their attacker was and where they were at. An arm reached through the window and grabbed Sara. She tried her best to get rid of the strong grip. Warrick tried to help but as soon as he moved another arm grabbed him. Both CSIs were dragged out of the car. The next thing Warrick saw was a baseball bat coming at him. He was able to dodge the first swing by only a few inches. He never saw the second one coming. Pain filled his entire head. He fell down to the ground and the last thing he thought of was that he had lied to Nick. Soon the blackness took him over. He wasn't even able to hear Sara scream.  
  
Grissom was in his office. It had been over two hours since Warrick and Sara left. He hadn't received a phone call from either one of them and that made him nervous. He tried calling them both on their cell phones. He even tried them at home. He received no answer from either one. He thought about calling Nick to see if for some reason they would have gone over there, but he was very hesitant to do it. Finally reason won, and dialed Nick's number. The phone rang four times before Nick answered. "Hello" Nick sounded like he had just been woken up. "Nick, it's Grissom. I was wondering. You haven't heard from Sara or Warrick in the last two hours have you?"  
"No, I haven't. Why do you ask?"  
Grissom didn't want to worry him in case there wasn't anything wrong. "Nothing. I sent them on an assignment and they aren't back yet. I was making sure Sara didn't sneak over to your place on the way home."  
"As much as I would love to say she's here, she's not. I haven't talked to either her or Warrick since I left work."  
"Okay, thanks Nick. You can go back to sleep now."  
Grissom was about to hang up when he heard Nick. "Wait. You wouldn't call unless you thought something was wrong. What is it you aren't telling me?"  
Grissom took a deep breath. "Okay, here's the situation. Brass got a call from an unknown saying they wanted Warrick and Sara's help. So I let them go but I told them to call when they found out what was going on. That was two hours ago. I haven't heard from either of them and they aren't answering their phone."  
Nick was fully awake now. He got up off his bed and started throwing clothes together. "I'm coming back in."  
"Nick, we don't know if anything's wrong. Maybe their cell phones are dead."  
"You don't actually believe that do you?"  
Grissom sighed. "No, I don't. Okay Nick, come on in. We'll see what we can find out."  
Nick quickly hung up the phone. He got dressed and was out the door faster than he thought possible.   
  
Grissom was outside waiting for Nick. The night air was slowly slicing its way through his skin. He pulled his jacket closer to him and watched for the headlights of Nick's truck. As soon as he saw them, he flagged Nick down. The truck stopped and Grissom hopped inside. "Where to?" Nick asked.  
Grissom gave him the directions. They drove in silence. Each was searching for anything that could lead them to the rest of their team. Nick was about to drive past the road hidden along the dirt road. Grissom saw it and had Nick to stop. They got out of the truck and walked along the narrow road. What they saw in front of them made their hearts stop. In front of them was the Tahoe. The doors were flung open and the windows were busted out. Nick went over to the door. He looked in hoping he wouldn't see the bodies of his friends inside. It was empty. He was so absorbed with his thoughts he didn't notice Grissom walk up. "I found their cell phones on the ground. There are also some small puddles of blood. I'm calling Brass and I'm getting a team in here. We need to survey the area. I'm calling Catherine too."  
Nick didn't respond. His mind was trying to replay the horrible scene that had happened only a short time ago.  
"Nick."  
Again he received no response.  
"Nick, snap out of it. I need you to start trying to get prints."  
Nick looked at Grissom. He wanted to do more than just gather prints. He wanted to find his friends. In the back of his mind, he knew that the only way to help was to process the scene before him and go from there. Of course that was in the back of his mind. He didn't want to think of what else the back of his mind was thinking. He made himself walk back over to his truck. Inside he had his field kit. He snapped on a pair of gloves and grabbed his kit. Grissom had already begun taking pictures. He walked back over to the Tahoe and began to dust for prints.  
  
It took Catherine an hour to get there. She had to find a last minute babysitter for Lindsey. When she pulled up, she noticed that the area was full of police cars. She got out and searched for Grissom. She saw him standing by the Tahoe. She approached him. "Sorry I'm late. I had to find a sitter." Grissom nodded. "It's okay. How is she feeling?"  
"Better thanks. So where do you want me to start?"  
"We have enough people here getting samples. Why don't you go help Nick look around the woods?"  
"Do you think they're out there?" Catherine said with obvious concern in her voice.  
Grissom looked at her and then looked into the woods. "I hope not."  
Catherine gave him a sad smile and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I hope not either. We'll find them where ever they are."  
Grissom took her hand in his and squeezed it. He then released it. "You better go check on Nick."  
Catherine nodded and walked toward the woods. She looked around while she walked. She glanced at her watch. 4:30 am. The sun would soon be rising. "That will help us see better anyway." She thought. "It'll be warmer too." She continued to walk and began to think how nice it would be if she could just walk around and not have to worry about her friends possibly being buried somewhere in the woods. She finally found Nick. He was sitting down on a large rock. He had his head down. She came over and stood beside him. "Are you okay?" she asked, knowing full well that he wasn't, but she still felt the need to ask anyway.  
Nick looked up at her. His eyes were red. She knew he had been crying or at least he had been earlier. "No, not really. How's Lindsey?"  
Catherine took his subject change to mean he didn't want to talk about it. "She's doing better. Nick, we're going to find them. We just can't give up on them."  
Nick stood up. "I'm not giving up Cat. I just feel so useless. I'm praying so hard that we won't find them here. I couldn't handle it. I would almost rather not find them at all as to find them buried here." Nick could feel his eyes start to water again. He hated feeling useless. "I should have stayed and let one of them go home."  
"From what Grissom told me, the person was only after Warrick and Sara. So if you did work in one of their places, the person would have still asked for them."  
"Why them? What did they do?"  
Catherine went over and hugged him. "Oh Nicky, I don't know why. We just have to be strong okay. I know how you feel. They're my friends too. We will find them I promise."  
Nick began to laugh a little. Catherine pulled away and looked at him. "Care to share?"  
"I was thinking of what Warrick told me earlier. He promised me he would take care of Sara for me."  
"I know he is. Where ever they are, I know that Warrick isn't letting Sara out of his sight."  
"Thanks Catherine. I think we should go back and see if Grissom has found out anything." He and Catherine began to walk back toward the crime scene. Each praying this nightmare would end soon.  
  
Warrick noticed two things when he woke up. The first thing was that he had a really bad headache. The second was that he was trapped in a room that looked like an old prison cell. He tried to lean up but the pain in his head caused him to fall back. Okay he thought, I guess I'm gonna stay down. He tried to survey his surroundings but it was hard because he couldn't lean up. He noticed that the place he was in was indeed a cell. Old black and rusty bars trapped him in. He knew that there was probably a brick wall behind him. If there was a cot he couldn't see it. The floor was nasty and very dusty. The place he was in hadn't been used in years. He tried to think of how he had got there. He remembered being in the Tahoe with Sara and the windows breaking. Sara!! He thought where is she. He once again tried pulling himself up. This time he was successful. He was alone in the cell but he noticed that there was a cell right across the room from him. He saw that the cells were exactly the same. He then noticed someone lying down on the ground. That someone was Sara. "Sara. Sara." He called out to her. She didn't respond. He knew that they were both in need of an emergency room. He knew that they probably both had a concussion. Sleeping with a concussion was very dangerous and Warrick began to feel himself drift back to sleep. He tried his best to fight it off, but he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. The darkness once again came over him.  
  
Grissom had everyone in the lab processing the prints and blood from the scene. On any other day, Greg would have commented on how he should have this much help all the time. But today, he kept his mouth shut. He wanted his friends back. Grissom had come in and completely taken over the lab. Greg didn't stand in the way either. He just grabbed a sample from his hand and began his job. He was processing the blood. The printer finally came to life printing out the results from the test. Greg handed them over to Grissom. Grissom looked at the results. The only traces of blood found were that of Warrick's and Sara's. The prints also came back theirs. "I hate this" Grissom said out loud. Greg figured he was talking to himself but commented anyway. "I know what you mean."  
Grissom thanked Greg and went in search for Catherine and Nick. A police officer came up to Grissom. The officer was a young man not much than Greg. "Excuse me Mr. Grissom." Grissom turned his attention to the young cop. "Yes?"  
The cop had an evidence bag in his hand. "Sir we found this out in the woods." Inside was a baseball bat covered in blood. "We believe it was used to break the windows and then used against Brown and Sidle."  
Grissom looked at him. "What's your name?"  
"Maverick. Douglas Maverick sir."  
"Well Mr. Maverick, I need you to take that to Greg Sanders in the lab and tell him I want the results ASAP. Understand?"  
"Yes sir." Maverick then headed toward the lab. Grissom hoped that was the evidence he needed to find his team.  
  
Once again Warrick woke up with a pounding headache. The only difference was this time he was able to pull himself into a sitting position. He was able to get a better look at his surroundings. He was indeed in an old prison. The lights in the building were dim, but he could still see. An old moss smell filled the room. The dust caused him to sneeze. He went to wipe his nose and felt dried blood along his face. Man this sucks he thought. He glanced over at the other cell. He noticed that Sara hadn't moved since the last time he saw her. That's not good. "Sara, can you hear me?" No response. He tried a little bit louder. "Sara, wake up!"  
She could hear someone calling out to her, but she didn't want to wake up. The smell of old moss and mothballs filled her nose along with dust. She coughed and tried her best to sit up. Like Warrick, she had a horrible headache. She got up and looked around trying to see where she was. Her eyes finally focused on Warrick. "Where are we?" she asked.   
Relief washed over him. "It seems we're in an old prison cell or dungeon somewhere. I don't know where one would be around here though."  
"Me neither. All I do know is that we have to find a way to get out of here."  
Warrick knew that there was no way they could open the bars and he had lost his cell phone somewhere. He didn't think they would work there anyway. The sound of an old door creaking got their attention. Soon heavy footsteps marched loudly along the hall.   
"Well, well, well, I see you both are awake."  
They both recognized the voice. Eckley. He came into view and stood between both cells. Warrick gave him a dirty look. "Should've known this was your idea."  
Eckley laughed. "You didn't think I was going to let you get away with what you did, did you?"  
Sara wished she could hit him with something. Her head hurt so bad and hearing his whiny voice made it worse. "What we did was finally get rid of you."  
Eckley turned around to face her. "Didn't work, did it? I'm still here. I might not have my job anymore but that doesn't mean I still can't get what I want."  
Warrick couldn't believe this guy. "What is it that you want?"  
Eckley spun around and looked Warrick straight in the eyes. "Revenge." The sound of his voice was dripping with hatred. Warrick could have sworn he saw Eckley's eyes change color.   
Sara found enough strength inside her and stood up and walked slowly to the bars. "Leave Warrick out of this. He didn't do anything to you. In fact he did you a favor. He only charged you with assault and let you walk. If you would have hit me, you would have been dead."   
Eckley laughed at her. He noticed that she was having a very hard time standing. He walked over to her cell. "Is that a fact Sidle. Looks to me like you're the one who's going to die. You want to fight Sara. I'll let you out and we can go at it right now."  
Warrick stood up. He knew that Sara would never refuse a challenge and he couldn't let her fight Eckley. She could hardly stand. "Hey Eckley, you didn't do this yourself. You had to have help. So who's your sidekick?"  
Eckley didn't have to answer. Agent Culpepper walked in and stood on the right side of Eckley causing Culpepper to be closer to Warrick. The agent turned and faced the black man. "Hello again."  
Warrick shook his head. "Why?" Is all he asked.  
"Do you think I would miss an opportunity to hurt Grissom? I don't think so. In fact I jumped at the chance."  
"Let me get this straight, you're helping him out to pay Grissom back for being better than you."  
"Shut up!! Both of you just shut up!!" Eckley yelled. "From now on, the only questions that are asked will be by me or Culpepper."  
Culpepper turned his attention to Sara. "Nice to see you again Sidle."  
Sara gave him a dirty look. "Feelings not mutual."  
This didn't faze the man a bit. He just laughed. "Your friends will never find you, and if they do it will be too late."  
Eckley laughed. "Yes, you see I wanted you both to suffer. You will die a slow death I can promise you that."  
Eckley then turned and headed back toward the door with Culpepper trailing him. "Enjoy your last few days of life." He called back. Then they heard the creaky door close loudly leaving them to wonder what their future will hold.  
  
Greg wasn't able to pull prints from the bat that Maverick gave him, but what he did find was just as good. He was walking around carrying his results looking for Grissom. He ran into Nick. Nick didn't look so good. Greg really felt bad for him but he thought he could cheer him up by giving him this big news. "Hey Nick."  
Nick turned around and saw the face of his friend. There was a twinkle in the young tech's eyes. "What did you find?"  
"I found two different blood types on the bat. One was from Warrick."  
Impatience got the best of Nick. "And the other one?"  
"Not Sara's if that's what you're thinking."  
Nick couldn't stand it anymore and he reached over to snatch the paper from Greg's hand. Greg was too quick for him though and pulled the paper away from his grasp.  
"Patience Nick, I'm getting there. I just wanted to give the results to Grissom too."  
Nick followed the young tech into Grissom's office. Grissom was on the phone. He looked exhausted. It was now around 7 am. They waited while he conversed with the person on the other line. "I don't care how long it takes. I don't want them leaving until that entire area is searched. The longer we wait the less time they have. I realize that you have people working around the clock. Let me tell you something, my entire team hardly gets anything less than a nine hour shift. In fact they are usually clocking in more overtime trying to solve a case more than any other team in Vegas. Okay, call me if you find anything. Bye."  
Grissom slammed down the phone so hard it shook the table. He then noticed to two men standing in his office. Greg was afraid to move. Grissom noticed the paper in his hand. "Is that the bat results?"  
Greg swallowed. "Um. Yeah here." He handed over the file to Grissom. Grissom took the paper and scanned it. His face began to awaken. He then looked back up at Greg. "You sure about this?"  
Greg nodded. "I doubled checked it."  
Nick still had no idea what was going on. "Okay will you tell me now. Whose blood is on that bat?"  
Grissom looked at him. "Eckley's."  
  
Nick stormed out of Grissom's office. I should have known he thought. Why didn't I think of this sooner? The hallway was crowed with the first shift crew. People laughing and going on about their day as if nothing was amiss in their world. He couldn't take it any longer. He had to get out. He didn't even see Catherine as he briskly walked out the door. Catherine knew something had happened and she didn't feel like finding out from Grissom so she went back out the door tracking down Nick. He was heading for his truck. "Hey Nick!" she called out. "Wait up."  
Nick didn't feel like talking to her but he didn't want to be rude and just drive off either. Catherine was his friend and he knew she only wanted to help. He decided he better wait on her. Catherine walked up to the passenger door and opened it and hopped in. "Where are we going?" she asked.  
Nick smiled despite himself. Catherine was about as stubborn as all of them and when she wanted something she usually got it. Nick got in and shut the door. "I needed to get some air."  
Catherine grinned. "Me too. Plus I need some breakfast and I'm sure you do too."  
Nick started the truck and pulled it into gear. "I'm not really hungry."  
"Nick you need to eat something. You need your strength to find them."  
Nick wasn't going to argue with her. His stomach betrayed him by growling very loudly. Catherine laughed. "Not very hungry huh. I would say your stomach disagrees with you."  
For the first time since Sara and Warrick disappeared, she saw a genuine smile on his face. "Yeah I guess so." He said. "Where do you want to eat?"  
"Doesn't matter to me. You decide. I'm just going for the ride."  
They rode in silence until they reached a restaurant. Nick spotted an empty place and pulled in. "Is this okay?"  
Catherine noticed they were at IHOP. "Yeah, this is fine. Lindsey loves it here. She would rather eat breakfast here everyday than for me to cook."  
Nick smiled and got out of his truck. The sun was completely up now and he could the warmth of the rays coming down on him. They walked in and the waitress seated them. She got their orders and left them. Nick was busy staring at the syrup. His mind was at least a thousand miles away.  
Catherine sighed. "Nick, what's wrong besides the obvious?"  
Nick looked up at her. "We found out who attacked them."  
He now had her full attention. "Who?"  
"Eckley. His blood was found on a baseball bat left at the crime scene."  
She couldn't believe it. Sure Eckley was a complete jerk, but he didn't seem like he would be the type of person to do something like that. "Nick, I'm sorry. But we can track him down and we will."  
Nick smiled at her. "I know we will. He's going to pay for everything he's done."  
Their waitress came up and set their food down and left. Slowly Nick and Catherine began to eat. Nick was thinking how good it was going to feel to pay Eckley back and Catherine was thinking how on earth they were going to be able to keep Nick from killing Eckley.  
  
Warrick's stomach was growling and his throat was dry. He was beginning to wonder if Eckley's definition of slow death was starvation. He looked over at Sara wondering if she was thinking the same thing. His head finally stopped hurting and all the blood seemed to finally stop flowing and was now drying. He wanted to kill Eckley and once he got out and had half his strength back he probably would. Of course then I would lose my job and then I would go to prison yada yada he thought to himself. I could say it was self-defense.   
Sara could feel Warrick's glare on her. She looked up and met his eyes. He looks bad she thought. Not that I probably look that good either. She could tell by looking at him that he had lost a lot of blood. He needs a hospital. Her thoughts then went to Nick. She missed him so much. She was worried about him. He had no idea where they were. She hoped that he would find them soon. She thought about their first date to the Outback. She had so much fun that night. Her stomach began to growl. Great I had to think about a food place she thought. "Hey Warrick you wouldn't happen to have some food hidden over there would you?" she asked.  
Warrick smiled at her. "Wish I did. My stomach's growling so loud I'm surprised you can't hear it."  
"Mine too. You think starvation is our death sentence?"  
Warrick nodded. "Yep, I was thinking that same thing."  
Sara grinned at him. "He's not that smart then is he. I mean death by starvation could take a while, but then of course there is dehydration."  
Warrick hadn't thought about that one. He got up and walked over to the bars and began to push on them.  
Sara had a puzzled look on her face and got up and walked to her own bars. "What are you doing?"  
"Trying to see if there are any loose bars. This place is so old. It couldn't hurt."  
She then began to test out her bars. She started from the top and worked her way to the bottom. One of the bars she touched wiggled in her hand. Excitement filled her. "Hey I found a loose one."  
Warrick grinned. "Can you pull it out?"  
She got on her knees and worked the bar. She pulled, pushed, twisted, tugged. Finally it bent back. "Got it. I might be able to squeeze through." She got down on her stomach and began to push herself between the bars. She could feel pain shoot into her sides but she ignored it and continued. She finally made it out. She walked over to Warrick's cell and began to pull on his. Working together they were able to get some of the bars to bend. "C'mon Warrick you gotta try to slide through."  
He felt his sides ache trying to get out but with his effort and Sara helping him he made it out. Sara hugged him. Warrick was relieved that they were out. He knew that getting out was going to be a lot harder. Letting go of Sara, he pushed back. "From here on out we have to stick together. Unless we're spotted and if that happens we have to split up and try to get out."  
Sara didn't like the sound of that. "I'm not leaving you here alone."  
He looked at her. "If they catch us both we will be in the same situation as before. If only one of us gets out than that person can bring the others back here."  
"Warrick" she began.  
He cut her off. "Look Sara, I made a promise and I'm going to keep it."  
She didn't say anything else. She knew it would be useless.   
"C'mon, let's see if we can get out of here." Warrick and Sara walked to the door and carefully as they could opened it. It squeaked but not as loudly as before. Glancing from left to right, they stepped out. Neither knew which way to go, but they agreed on going to the left. Warrick couldn't shake the feeling like he was in a horror movie and that any minute now the killer was going to jump out and attack him.  
Sara was feeling the same way. I feel like Clarice from the Silence of the Lambs going to see Hannibal. Chills ran along her arms and legs. They made their way along until they came to a spiral staircase that led up. "I'm guessing that might be the way out of here." Warrick said. Sara nodded and they made their way up the stairs.  
Once upstairs they could see daylight. The room they were in looked like an old police station. Dust covered everything. The place hadn't been touched in a very long time. It made them wonder how Eckley knew about it. Warrick carefully walked across the room. There in front of them was a door leading to the outside. There wasn't a sign of Eckley or Culpepper. He glanced back at Sara and nodded toward the door. Sara nodded back and they approached the door. Before he opened it he looked at her and whispered, "Okay, so far so good. We haven't seen them yet but that doesn't mean that they aren't outside. I'm going to open this door and we will walk together but if you see them run. I'll be right behind you okay."  
Sara breathed deeply. She didn't want to leave him but she knew they would have a better chance if they split up. "Okay."  
Warrick shook his head. "Promise me Sara, you won't do anything stupid. Promise me if we do get caught you will run and get help. Don't come back for me unless you have the team with you."  
Sara didn't know if she could make that promise. She glanced at the floor. "Only if you promise the same thing. If I get caught keep going."  
Darn he thought. "Okay, okay. I promise you Sara."  
Sara smiled. "I promise too Warrick."  
He gave her one last look and opened the door.   
  
Nick and Catherine pulled into a parking space back at the lab. As soon as they stepped out Grissom came over to them. "We've got a lead."  
Catherine closed her door and looked at him. "What kind of lead?"  
"A witness saw a man fitting Eckley's description driving down toward the old prison camp."   
Nick sat back in his car. "Come on, we'll ride down there."  
Grissom and Catherine both got in and Nick started the truck back up. Grissom told them that Brass was gathering a team to meet them out there. Grissom didn't want to get their hopes up, but he had this feeling they were getting closer.  
  
Warrick and Sara slowly stepped outside. Looking both ways, they didn't see anything. Once they were fully outside, he recognized where he was. "This is the old prison camp." The entire area was surrounded by woods, but there was a dirt road that led to the main highway. He pointed to the road off to the left. "That leads to the highway. The safest bet is to go through the woods."  
Sara agreed. Standing in the open made her feel like a target. "Then let's do it." They began walking toward the woods when they heard Eckley's voice. "Going somewhere?"  
Both turned around and saw him standing in the doorway holding a gun. Warrick didn't think, he just grabbed Sara's arm and told her to run. They both darted as fast as they could towards the woods. He let go of her arm and ran toward the right side of the woods. Causing her to go toward the left close to the highway. A gunshot got both their attentions. "Keep going Sara!!" he called out. She ran hard. The loss of blood and lack of food was making her dizzy but she couldn't stop. She made it to the dirt road only to find Agent Culpepper pulling in. Crap, she thought and ran deep into the woods.   
Culpepper saw her and stopped his car. He noticed that Eckley was firing his gun. He grabbed his gun and got out of the car and began to go after Sara. The chase is on he thought. Let's see who wins.  
Warrick's sides hurt badly. Normally he could run this pace anytime he wanted, but with a possible concussion, blood loss, and hunger he was having a hard time. His breaths came out in bursts. Sweat covered his face and back. He could feel Eckley behind him. Warrick pressed on. Tree limbs hit him and threatened to take him down, but he pressed on. His very life depended on it. A bullet came flying by him driving itself into the tree on the left side of him. That was way too close he thought. He continued on praying that he would make it out alive.  
Culpepper walked quietly in the woods. He could hear the sounds of footsteps running in different directions. He was mainly concerned with one. He caught a glimpse of Sara from his right eye. He picked up his pace and began to track her down.  
Tree limbs whacked Sara's face and hands but she kept moving. She knew if she stopped for one second she would die. She heard a gunshot and prayed that Warrick was okay. Please just let us make it out of here. She heard Culpepper behind her and took a quick glance behind her to see how close he was. Big mistake, as soon as she turned back around a tree stump that had been rooted up caused her to trip. She fell face first on the ground. She knew it was over for her. I'm sorry Nick. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you goodbye.  
Eckley raced after Warrick. That last shot had been very close. Next time will be better he thought. He was beginning to get tired but knew that Warrick would fall before he did. So he continued to chase him. He could see him up ahead and saw Warrick trip over something. Eckley smiled. I shall have my revenge now and it feels so good.  
  
Nick's truck pulled up along the road to the prison. An unfamiliar car sat in the middle with the driver's side door wide open. Brass and his team hadn't got there yet. A gunshot filled their ears. Quickly all three of them got out and headed into the woods.   
  
Culpepper walked up to Sara. She was slowly getting up on her feet. Her forehead was bleeding from where she fell. He pointed his gun at her. "Any last words Sidle?"  
Before she could answer a hand grabbed Culpepper's arm and the gun fired. Culpepper turned around to see who had attacked him. A fist slammed right into his face sending straight toward the ground. Sara looked up and saw Nick. She felt relief and ran right for him. Nick couldn't believe how close that was. He grabbed Sara and held her close. He could feel her shaking. He rubbed her back and tried to calm her down. She pulled away. "Warrick. We have to find him. Eckley was after him."  
Nick pulled her back to him. "Grissom and Catherine are here. They'll find him." He could feel dampness on his shirt and realized that Sara was crying. "It's okay. It's over."  
  
Warrick landed hard on the ground. He was able to get back up quickly though. Eckley was right behind him. "How's this for revenge Warrick? Did you even think that we were going to let you go?"  
Warrick saw Grissom and Catherine sneak up behind Eckley and he knew he had to keep Eckley's attention. "You know now your jail time is going to be a lot longer. In fact I bet you'll have at least 20 years."  
"That's what you think."  
Grissom knocked Eckley on the back of the head causing him to fall down. Grissom smiled at him. "Actually Eckley, that's what we know."  
Warrick had never been so happy to see Grissom and Catherine in his life. He gave them both a hug. "Did you find Sara?"  
Nick walked over with Sara. "She's right here."  
Nick gave Warrick a hug. "Thanks man, I owe you one."  
Warrick gave him an odd look. "What are you talking about?"  
"We'll talk about it later. You two need a hospital."  
  
They headed back out of the woods with Eckley and Culpepper. Brass's team arrived and took the two-cuffed men and put them in a police car. Brass walked up to the night crew and looked at them. He gave Sara and Warrick a big grin. "Glad to see you two are both okay."  
They both told him thanks. Brass then walked off and headed back to his car. He had two men to put behind bars.  
Nick looked at all of them and then back at his truck. There was no way they could all fit. Grissom and Catherine decided they would ride back with Brass's people. Nick, Sara, and Warrick got in his truck and headed for the hospital. Nick held Sara's hand the entire way there.  
  
Nick had to wait outside while Warrick and Sara were both being checked out. He felt so much better knowing that both of them were safe. If I had been a minute later, no he thought I'm not going to think that way. He felt a weight shift beside and looked over. Warrick sat there staring at him. "You okay man?" Warrick asked.  
Nick nodded. "Yeah, but the real question is are you okay?  
Warrick smiled. "Yeah, I have a slight concussion and a lot of bruises. Nothing major. Oh, and I'm about to starve."  
Nick laughed. "Well, we can fix that as soon as Sara comes out."  
Sara walked out of the room. Nick stood up and grabbed her hand. "You okay?"  
She smiled and squeezed his hand. "Yeah, I have the same symptoms as Warrick here. Concussion and bruises."  
They began to walk out of the hospital. "So you guys wanna go eat somewhere?"  
"Yes" they both said in unison.  
  
Warrick and Sara didn't care where Nick picked to eat as long as it had food. They both got a large water and had them drunk halfway before the waitress finished taking their order. She gave them an odd look. Nick just looked at her. "They've had a hard day and it's the easiest thing they could chug down."  
The waitress laughed and left to put in their order. Sara looked at Nick. "I'll be back. I need to go to the restroom."  
As soon as she left Nick turned his attention to Warrick. "Thanks for taking care of her."  
Warrick looked at him. "I didn't do that good of job. She could have died."  
Nick grinned at his friend. "But she didn't and you helped her. In my opinion you did a wonderful job and I can't thank you enough."  
Warrick smiled. "Take care of her Nick. She really loves you."  
"I know."  
Sara walked back and sat down. "So what did I miss?"  
"Nothing" the guys replied at the same time.  
  
After lunch, Nick dropped Warrick off at his home. They said their good-byes and Nick drove on. He looked at Sara. "Do you want to go home now?"  
She smiled at him. "Only if you stay with me. I don't want to be alone."  
Nick grinned at her. "I'll stay. And Sara, you don't have to worry about being alone. I'll never leave you."  
They arrived at her house and walked inside. Nick quickly pulled her in his arms and kissed her. "I love you Sara."  
"I love you too Nick."  
Nick made sure the door was locked and sat down on the couch with Sara. She put her head on his shoulder and soon drifted off to sleep. He began to feel his own body shutting down and kissed her forehead and thought you'll never be alone again. He then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.  
  
The End 


End file.
